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Guard in foiled heist video given extra security

- SE-ANNE RALL

LEO PRINSLOO, the hero guard whose brave escape from armed suspects has sparked the interests of communitie­s around the world, has been placed under police guard following death threats.

Deon Coetzee, of the Fortis Group said they have had to step up security around him following the threats.

Coetzee said Prinsloo and Lloyd Mthombeni had been escorting a van that was transporti­ng cellphones when they came under attack.

He said the modus operandi of criminals is to take out both the escort vehicle and the courier vehicle.

“In the video you see what was happening to the escort vehicle. Two vehicles with three criminals in each tried to take them and Leo took evasive action,” Coetzee said.

He said Prinsloo has been in various security roles for more than 30 years now, with a 12 year career in the South African Police Special Task Force.

“The guard in the passenger seat, Lloyd Mthombeni, was just four days on the job when the incident happened,” he said.

Dash cam footage of the incident was shared hundreds of times and quickly went viral on social media.

The incident has been covered several times by news agencies from around the world.

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